Building Recertification in Miami Beach

The notice

The Building Department posts a notice at the property well ahead of the date the recertification is due. Reminders follow as that date approaches, the final one together with a notice posted on site. The recertification package asks the owner to arrange an electrical and a structural inspection of the building and to file a signed and sealed report with the Recertification Section.

Filing the report

The city asks for one completed inspection report that contains both the structural and the electrical reports. A digitally signed report can go in through the Citizen Self Service portal — CSS on the city’s pages — or by e-mail to the Building Recertification team. The city’s procedure adds that an e-mailed report should carry a digital signature and seal that a third party can verify.

In person

A report that is not digitally signed and sealed may be e-mailed as a scanned copy, the city’s procedure says, with the original signed and sealed report sent by mail or handed in at an in-person appointment at the Building Department. The department’s procedures also list Building Recertification among its appointment services, and the phone line has an option under the same name.

The city’s forms

Under “Required Building Recertification Reporting Forms” the city’s page lists a structural and an electrical inspection form, both under the Building Department’s name, a structural inspection guide, and two parking-lot forms — guardrails and illumination — that go in where they apply. The electrical form has a thermography section, with the thermography report attached where the building’s electrical service requires one.

After filing

The city’s procedure routes the report to the Chief Structural Engineer and the Chief Electrical Inspector for review. After both approvals the recertification goes to the Building Official for final approval. The city’s page says the Building Official then issues a Building Recertification approval letter, sent to the owner and to the engineer or architect of record.

Repairs

When the first report notes deficiencies that need permits, the city’s page has the owner submit an updated report once those permits have passed final inspection. The same paragraph requires a cover letter certifying that the building is structurally and electrically safe for its specified use and occupancy. The procedure says the department fast-tracks those repair permits; the recertification number goes on the permit application.

Extensions

The city’s procedure says an extension to obtain repair permits may be granted when the design professional who inspected the building finds it poses no harm to its occupants, states in writing that it can stay occupied and asks for the extension. The procedure sets its own length for it; the time for repairs now in force is the county’s, in the rows below.

If it is late

The procedure describes a reminder posted on site — it calls it a Red Tag — when the report has not reached the Building Department by a set point. If neither the report nor an extension letter is in on time, it says, a recertification violation is issued: the Notice of Violation is posted on the building and a copy goes to the owner by certified mail.

Building office City of Miami Beach Building Department 1700 Convention Center Drive, Second Floor Miami Beach, FL 33139 Phone: (305) 673-7610

Read on the website of the City of Miami Beach Building Department: October 9, 2026